The investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is entering a high-stakes phase for the White House as lawmakers prepare to publicly question former FBI Director James B. Comey and other top intelligence and law enforcement officials about whether President Donald Trump sought to block the FBI inquiry.

wire reports

For the next 2 days, Congress will examine claims that Trump sought to end Russia probe

WASHINGTON — The investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election is entering a high-stakes phase for the White House as lawmakers prepare to publicly question former FBI Director James B. Comey and other top intelligence and law enforcement officials about whether President Donald Trump sought to block the FBI inquiry.

The Senate Intelligence Committee will hold hearings Wednesday and Thursday into the intensifying legal and political thicket, one that already has spawned a special counsel to oversee a multipronged FBI investigation, a related criminal grand jury inquiry and four separate congressional investigations.

Comey’s testimony Thursday will be the marquee event, broadcast live on nearly every TV network and cable news channel, since the former FBI director will be speaking out for the first time since Trump fired him without warning May 9 for what the president later described as the “Russia thing.”

The hearings kick off Wednesday when some of America’s top national security officials — Dan Coats, the director of national intelligence; Adm. Michael S. Rogers, director of the National Security Agency; Andrew McCabe, acting FBI director; and Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general — will testify.

Sessions said to suggest resigning as tensions grow with Trump

WASHINGTON — U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions had suggested in the past several weeks he might resign amid a widening rift with President Donald Trump, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Sessions has come under fire from the president over his recusal from an investigation of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election, an inquiry that’s now exploring whether Trump associates colluded with Moscow. The attorney general’s suggestion that he might consider quitting was reported earlier by ABC News and confirmed by a person familiar who discussed the matter on condition of anonymity.

Trump also has assailed the Justice Department for its handling of the administration’s controversial travel ban, and he accused it in a series of tweets on Monday of weakening his plans to limit entry for citizens from about a half-dozen Muslim nations. Both versions of Trump’s travel ban have been blocked by federal courts.

Obama says Paris accord will succeed even with the ‘temporary absence’ of US

Former President Barack Obama on Tuesday praised public and private entities for vowing to press ahead with the goals of the Paris accord on climate change, despite his successor’s decision to abandon the landmark global agreement.

Speaking at an event in Montreal, one of the few public appearances he has made since leaving office in January, Obama said he “took great comfort” in watching as states, cities and corporations “made clear that they will keep pushing forward” despite President Donald Trump’s decision last week to withdraw the United States from the 2016 agreement that Obama had considered one of his biggest achievements.

The deal, “even with the temporary absence of American leadership, will still give our children a fighting chance,” Obama said.

Scooter Gennett hits 4 home runs for Reds to tie MLB record

CINCINNATI — Cleats, pants, jersey, hat. Scooter Gennett peeled off his uniform — the one still dripping from a douse of celebratory ice water — and handed every piece to a clubhouse manager. All of them were headed to Cooperstown.

All so hard to believe.

The diminutive Cincinnati native put on the greatest home run show in franchise history Tuesday night. He tied a major league record with four homers — becoming the 17th player to accomplish the feat — and matched the club mark by driving in 10 runs during a 13-1 victory over the slumping St. Louis Cardinals.

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